


Changes

by likebunnies



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV), Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Fix-It, Gen, Post-Season/Series 03, Speculation, Spoilers, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 06:44:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8613376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likebunnies/pseuds/likebunnies
Summary: The trio is traveling to colonial America so the only person who actually was alive then and still living now is called in for guidance... but Ichabod Crane has plans of his own and things he desperately needs to change. This is all speculation about the Timeless episode "Stranded." I don't really know where they are going to or what they plan to do there.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So I haven't written any Timeless fic yet but this Sleepy Hollow crossover idea had been floating through my head. Seeing that the trio was going to 1754 made me decide to write it. Because I'll do anything to fix the third season of Sleepy Hollow. And give the Timeless Trio some hope. All errors are mine. I haven't watched the Timeless episodes over and over... yet.

“What do you mean you're bringing in an expert? I'm the expert,” Lucy said as she followed Agent Christopher to a conference room inside the Mason Industries complex. They were losing precious time in trying to chase down Flynn but those in charge seemed to think they needed more information about the era where the three of them were traveling. 

“You're the expert when it comes to what one can learn from a book. This man lived it,” Agent Christopher said as Lucy, Wyatt and Rufus each took a seat around the glass table. 

“Wait... what?” Rufus asked. “What do you mean he lived it?”

“You're saying there's another time traveler around and you didn't bring this up until now?” Wyatt added to the questions. 

“Not exactly a time traveler. Not like the three of you travel back and forth. More like someone who skipped a few centuries and woke up again. In the 21st century,” Agent Christopher answered. They all stared at her for a moment. 

“Like Rip Van Winkle?” Lucy asked. 

“Yes, more like that. He should be here shortly,” she said, looking at her watch. 

“How can we trust that he's legit?” Rufus asked. He was in too deep with enough shady characters already and he didn't want to cross more. He didn't need more of that in his life at the moment. 

“My cousin was the sheriff in Westchester County. She worked with him as a consultant on a number of, shall we say, unusual cases. He's the real deal.” 

They all looked at each other and then down at the table before them. None of them were sure they could trust each other yet let alone another person – especially one with such outlandish claims. Even after all that they had experienced, they had yet to run into someone who slept until this century. Someone who could understand seeing different times. 

Before more questions could be asked, Connor Mason entered the room with a man following behind him. The man was in colonial garb, complete with a shirt that was laced up the front. He wore a long, brown coat and breeches that ended at the knees and were fastened with buttons. He had on boots... very nice boots. Wyatt looked at the man and then at Lucy, giving her a half smile that was more of a smirk. Rufus looked like he wanted to be anywhere else rather facing another day of this. Lucy was quickly trying to figure out what exact time period his clothes were supposed to be from because it looked more like it was from that Colonial Times restaurant she visited once than anything else. They were definitely reproductions. Except the boots. Those were the real deal. 

“I'd like to introduce Ichabod Crane,” Connor said. “He is with... who are you with again?”

“I'm not entirely sure anymore myself,” Crane said in an accent that was slightly different than Mason's. A little more proper. A little more stiff and self-conscious. “I was a history professor at Oxford and I was a captain in George Washington's army...”

“ _The_ George Washington?” Wyatt asked. 

“”Yes, _the_ George Washington,” Crane said with a little roll of his eyes. How many other George Washington's had armies? 

“We don't have a lot of time, people. Let's just trust that the man knows what he's talking about and move on. Flynn has gone back to 1754. We need to know not only what he might be looking for but how to make these three blend in,” Connor Mason said. 

“I was only a boy in 1754 and I was still living in Scotland at that time. I don't know if I can give you precise details about the colonies considering I didn't arrive here until 1770,” Crane said. 

“You're the closest thing we've got to being there. Unless there is someone else?” Agent Christopher asked. 

“No. No, there isn't. Anyone else who was alive during that time or had been there... they are all dead now,” Crane answered with sadness in his voice. He looked away and when he looked back, he was trying hard again to hide whatever emotion it was he had just let show for a second. “I do have a question. Why can't I go back with them? I could help them blend in, as you said, from there.”

“Can't happen. If you were actually alive during that time, you can't go back then. It causes... problems,” Connor answered. “Big problems.”

“I understand,” Ichabod Crane said, unable to hide his disappointment. “I will attempt to help you in whatever way I can before you get there. You must be Miss Preston, the historian?” 

“Yes. Yes... I am... Lucy Preston... nice to meet you,” she said, standing to offer her hand to him. He shook it affably and then she sat down again. Crane did not. Instead, he continued standing at parade rest, hands now clasped behind his back again. 

“And Mr. Carlin and Mr. Logan? Or is it Master Sergeant Logan?” Crane asked. 

“Wyatt is fine... captain,” Logan answered. He still sounded skeptical. “I see you've done your homework about us. Tell us more about yourself.”

“Wyatt, we're running out of time,” Connor said. 

“What is it you need to know that I couldn't tell you?” Lucy asked, directing her question to Connor. “From the date, I'm assuming we'll be going to Pennsylvania. Fort Necessity?” 

“Yes, you will. And you will probably be meeting someone who only one person in this room has met before,” Connor said, nodding at Crane. 

“George Washington,” Lucy said, eyes wide. 

“The George Washington?” Wyatt asked again. Rufus settled back in his chair, pondering what this would time period would mean for him. What meeting these people would mean. 

“Yes, the George Washington,” Ichabod Crane said once more. “What would you like to know about him?”

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Wyatt watched as Lucy and Ichabod Crane talked in an animated fashion about what she thought she knew and all the wild stories he was telling her about this man they knew from history books and the one dollar bill. The sadness that Crane carried around him like a heavy woolen cloak was lifted. Wyatt knew all about that level of sadness. He still felt it every single day. He didn't know how Lucy was even functioning with the loss of her sister, except she still had the hope she could change it. Didn't he also have that hope about Jessica?

“We're running out of time,” Wyatt said, interrupting them. He stood up abruptly and offered a hand to Lucy. 

“Am I mistaken but do you not have a time machine? How do you run out of time?” Crane asked. 

“It's complicated,” Rufus answered, not wanting to get into all the theories behind how it worked. Not now, anyway. 

“Of course. Please... go and do what it is you have to do for America,” Crane said, standing himself as 'Miss Preston' rose out of her chair. “But can I beg of you to do a favor for me?” 

“That whole 'Back to the Future' letter to yourself doesn't always work,” Wyatt said before Crane could get out another word. “I tried.”

“Please try it again. What could it hurt? As long as you are meeting with the general anyway,” Crane said after thinking for a moment. Lucy shrugged and agreed. Wyatt didn't want to be inconvenienced with transporting colonial mail but the man had come here to help them. 

“Okay, okay. But hurry. We have to be somewhere,” Wyatt agreed. 

“And I will be most interested in hearing about this journey when you return. You will contact me in Washington DC immediately?” Crane asked Lucy. 

“Yes, of course. We'll do that. I mean, unless we mess things up and you don't exist,” she said with a slightly nervous laugh. 

“I'm not supposed to exist now anyway,” he said, a crease forming on his brow. He was looking gloomy again. 

“Okay, people. Show time. Let's get into costume. Mr. Crane, will you assist?” Agent Christopher said. 

“Certainly. But there's one more thing I need to remind you of before you get... into costume,” Crane said, his eyebrow arched up high. 

“What's that?” Rufus asked. 

“Smallpox. Where any of you vaccinated?” Crane asked. 

Wyatt raised his hand and then slowly lowered it when Lucy and Rufus didn't do the same. “Part of the military... I had to be. In case. Well, you know,” he explained. 

“Well then. I'd suggest that you, Miss Preston and you, Mr. Carlin, be careful. Very careful. And get inoculated before you travel to any more eras.”

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The trip was not enjoyable. Not in the slightest. Not that they ever were but this one certainly convinced the trio how amazing the 21st century really was. The Alamo had nearly been enough of a lesson on that but this? Like visiting a whole new universe. They had a new respect for what the colonists went through. 

Lucy was exhausted but glad she had managed to do what Mr. Crane had asked her to do. It wasn't easy but she got a note to a young George Washington. It was all out of her hands for now – except she could find out easily how and if it worked. She wasn't sure what Ichabod Crane had put in that letter but she knew where to find him. 

“Agent Christopher... I'd like to contact Mr. Crane again. Let him know how things turned out. Where can I reach him in DC?” Lucy asked. 

“What do you mean DC? Mr. Crane had to return to his home in Sleepy Hollow, New York. His wife, Abbie, was waiting for him... she's expecting their first baby any day now,” Agent Christopher said. 

“Oh...” Lucy said with a smile. Maybe the 'Back to the Future' letter worked for someone. Maybe this Abbie was what that letter was about. That gave her hope that she could find her sister. But if she could do that...

Lucy caught a glimpse of Wyatt as he was leaving the building and it filled her with apprehension and a mixture of other emotions she couldn't yet describe. She knew he'd never stop trying to figure out how to save his wife. 

And Lucy wasn't sure how she was going to feel when and if he finally did. 

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The End

**Author's Note:**

> Usually, when I write a first story in a fandom, it's a little... off? I think that's a good term for it. It takes me a while to get the voices right. A lot of watching over and over and over. Give me time, I guess. Heh. All these shows dealing with time. No wonder I have none.


End file.
